Okay Readers, I promise this will be the last Strawberry post but this will be the first of my new Natural Skin Care blogging tips!!! Not only will I tell you how to make natural masks, I will also explain how they work. I’m the type of person who needs to know why for everything before I use it. Here’s my easy to make, hydrating, and cheap face mask. It’s also great for all skin types!

What do I do?

With this face mask, you need three ingredients: Three large strawberries, one teaspoon of honey, one tablespoon of milk. Mash the strawberries with a fork and then stir in the rest of the ingredients to make a paste. Wash your face with warm water to open your pores (I use Cetaphil face wash) and pat dry with a clean towel. Then apply the paste for 15 to 20 minutes. You can also cut strawberry slices for under your eyes to help with puffiness and dark circles. I recommend lying down with a towel under your head. Rinse off with cold water to tighten your pores and lock in the good stuff. I always apply Cetaphil moisturizer after my shower or face mask by patting.

Don’t forget to get a good night sleep and drink plenty of water!!

How does this work?

Honey and milk have been used for centuries as far back as ancient China and Egypt! It’s my staple for natural products. Here’s why: Honey is naturally antibacterial and a humectant (a natural moisturizer) while milk contains beta hydroxy acid making it a natural exfoliate to soften your skin while helping to even out your pigmentation. This will make your skin soft with brighter, younger looking skin (it helps reduce wrinkles). Milk/Honey is great for scars as well as cold sores. Honey is the best spot treatment (leave it on over night!).

Strawberries work well with these two ingredients!Strawberries are crammed with vitamins and contain salicylic acid which both are very useful to treat and pamper your skin. These berries cleanse, exfoliate and refresh your skin because the salicylic acid gets rid of your dead skin cells, it tightens your pores and brightens up your face making it look shinier. They refresh, remove impurities, reduce swelling and redness and lighten scars. Strawberries also acts as a natural toner and are great for scrubs. It’s June so this is the best time for fresh strawberries!

I’m on a Strawberry cooking spree! Yesterday, I made a delicious cake and I thought it would be great to share with you guys!

I used a Classic White Duncan Hines cake mix. However, I use olive oil instead of vegetable oil. With that said, use a little under the line because olive oil makes everything grow. Follow the instructions on the back of the box. I remembered to take pictures this time to show you! (Also, please excuse my messy cookware. I was making a big cake and had to use the biggest pans which happens to be my oldest! My mom’s side is Italian and it’s a tradition to pass down pots when a new generation gets married or their own place. I have a pot from three generations ago!)

After you mix your batter and preheat your oven, you will need two more items. One square tin and one circle tin. I used an eight inch on both. Prep your pans, pour in the batter and begin baking!

Now here’s where it gets fun!! After cooling your cakes, you will need to flip them. Take the a large pan and flip your square piece on to it. Make sure to position it as a diamond so you can place your circle pieces on top without them falling off the edge. Now, take your circle cake and flip it into a large dinner plate. You will cut the cake in half on that plate. Carefully place the cake halves along the diamond to make a heart. If you need to carve, carve the outer edges of the heart. It will be easier to ice in the long run. Now, you should have a lovely heart in front of you!

For the icing, we will be using a regular tub. I used Duncan Hines Chocolate. Scoop half the tub into a microwavable bowl. Microwave for ten seconds and stir! This with make your icing smooth, easy to pour on and glossy without changing the taste or going nuts! It’s my new favorite way of icing!! For the sections where the halves meet the square cake, you have two options: Pour extra icing till it’s full there or place regular icing between the edges and then pour on glaze. I personally recommend just pouring. When you’re finished, add strawberries to your liking. With this glaze, it’s great for chocolate covered strawberries as well!! Just dip the strawberries in while holding the stem. They are great for decorations too! Then place the cake in the fridge for thirty minutes to harden.

Which is unusual for me since I rarely eat breakfast. I know that’s suppose to be bad but I find when I eat breakfast I get hungry much earlier or nauseous until the afternoon. In fact, I hate most breakfast foods. So, I was in a dilemma.

I had two choices: eggs or strawberries. Neither sounded appetizing on their own. So, I made Crepes instead! They count as dessert as well so I was cheating a little with breakfast.

When I was in high school, Crepes were a big deal. My french teacher, after school, would make them every month and bring in all sorts of toppings. Kids would come in and bring them upstairs to snack and work on their math (it was allowed as long as you brought our math teachers a plate with extra whip cream)! I also was friends with Madame’s daughter and was invited to slumber parties where we would eat crepes in the morning with fruit. So, I missed them!(The crepes, but my friends too!!)

Today’s crepes were delicious!!! I wished I took photos to show you but I forgot 😦 And I was really hungry as well…. but I can give the recipe to you so you can try! It’s really easy.

These were just plain Strawberry Crepes, but you add cream if you desire or a hint of chocolate dressing. Powder sugar is great for crepes and strawberries as well.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.

Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

The weekend has ended but summer has official started for me! I write this while eating s’mores and watching the (surprisingly large) lightening bugs dancing around. If anything, I just wanted to capture Saturday forever and I thought writing it here would be the best spot!

Friday night I pulled out the cooler, gave it a nice wash, and decided Saturday was a perfect beach day. With a call to my sisters and my mother, everyone agreed. So, I packed up all the beach bag and towels, and the next day we hopped in the car in the early morning to drive about two hours to our favorite beach.

The morning cloud cover scared most of the traffic away so the ride was smooth. We rolled down the windows and blasted our favorite radio station, with intervals of calling in for the radio contest that was playing–no winning calls though. As soon as we crossed over the bridge that led to the quaint little town we could smell the ocean breeze. Little white sailboats specked the water. We found our favorite deli as soon as we hit our ocean town and bought chicken wraps, cakes, and chips to add to our tomatoes, drinks, and strawberries.

We were greeted by a cool summer breeze as we opened the blankets, threw off our sandals and settled down for the best beach day I could ever recall. The water was freezing at 60 F and the current was strong but it didn’t stop anyone from swimming. One ocean can turn any adult into a child again. I watched children diving like dolphins and married couples splashing like new teenage lovers. My sisters and I dove right in, tumbling in the waves, getting washed away by the current and jumping like seals. At one point, we saw a horse-shoe crab floating overhead in the wave. A little reminder that we were not the only creatures to enjoy the sea that day.

Placing the chair on the water’s edge, I sat with my mother. We counted the cruise-liners and the sailboats that drifted on the horizon. Our conversation drifted from our lives at home to living like mermaids on the beach forever. We giggled as a blond lifeguard splashed around the waves trying to catch our attention. A young boy called out playfully to his mother and laughed as he pretended he couldn’t swim. The lifeguard ran over to save him but found no danger except a grumpy mother. He flashed a smile as he turned to glance where we sat.

As the sun lowered and the tide raised, we walked along the rock jetty and watched the water fill the tide pools while the large waves crash on the shore.

Adventurous, we walked toward the bungalows until we found an old-fashioned ice cream and burger eatery where we could eat outside with refill after refill of seltzer water.

We came back home: a little sun-burnt, a little sandy, and a little tired but glad we took our day trip to the beach.

We were sitting next to each other in the bus. Me and my sister. And suddenly we heard the sound of an ambulance nearby. The vehicles stopped and gave it a pass. As soon as I heard its siren, I stopped for a few seconds and closed my eyes. Seeing this, my sister was puzzled. I could see it in her eyes, the urge to question me about my sudden action. I thought to myself, about the time, when I had the same confusion in my mind.

It was a year before, when I was coming back from college, in the college bus, with a good friend. We were busy in our talks about school and studies when suddenly an ambulance passed by. I saw her closing her eyes and praying. She opened her eyes back after a few seconds. I asked her what she…

I won two free tickets to an Imagine Dragons concert AND a driver/party limo!!!!! \\(^-^)// Let me repeat. I WON SOMETHING! AND IT’S MY FAVORITE BAND!!

I never win!!! ANYTHING!! Especially calling in on the Radio for concert prizes. The only thing I ever won was a stuffed animal from Wack-A-Mole for my sister. Oh, and a car-wash I still never received….

Of course, I’ll be taking the same sister to see Imagine Dragons because it just so happens to be her favorite band too.

I rarely write on my everyday life. I probably should–most bloggers do–but my life is fairly uninteresting. Well, it is interesting and different but not interesting for other people. However, something extraordinary happen the other day. I believe in God, miracles, and angels. I believe there is a greater force than all of us; yet, more so this week than ever. My second major was Religious Studies, so I read countless secular arguments against “archaic organized religions” where people were critiqued for being childish (I have an argument against those critiques but that is for another day). Because of those critiques, I want to share my story because I want others not to feel silly for believing.

My grandmother called me her little butterfly. I don’t know if it was because I never stopped moving when I was younger or for my ongoing fascination with butterflies, either way it caught on. In her very last words to me, she called me her “Little Butterfly”. Of course, my family missed her terribly especially my mother and I. We took comfort in seeing butterflies and thinking of her. Sometimes, we liked to say, half-jokingly and yet very seriously, that she was there as the butterfly. Later in my first year of college, my neighbor, who was born and raised in Mexico, was visiting my dorm and saw my room decked out in green and purple butterflies: “Do you know that butterflies are loved ones saying hello?”. I freaked out. No! I didn’t know but I did know!? I never knew others thought this; somehow, this made our little comfort even more real.

On Saturday, I was helping my mother make a giant change. She was terribly uneasy that day because we were all unsure whether we were doing the right thing. It was the type of decision that closed the door to the past forever and left the future blurry. My mother was finishing up while we all headed over to the car, ready to leave. I suddenly had the feeling that I needed to go to my mom, just for moral support or help or whatever. As I was standing with her, my mother stalled, still unsure she was ready to turn away, and then a miracle happened. A large yellow butterfly came floating straight toward us. We both broke out smiling so I said hello! As soon as I said that, our little beauty circled right over to me and danced a hand’s width in front of my face. I could not stop smiling and laughing because I knew that was my grandmother agreeing with our decision and telling us she was still watching over us and protecting us. I looked at my mother, who at this point now was in tears, nodding. She knew too. Everything was going to be alright.

Other strange things have happened this week and year that has shown me that God is watching over my family, but some of those stories are not mine to share. I can only give thanks and offer my truest love to God. You may think I am childish, you may think I am looking for things and merely forcing myself to see them in my search but I know that what I saw and what I felt was and is all very real.

“Let’s leave,” she said when she meant to say “let’s wander.”
Who needs direction when they have each other?
“Let’s run,” she said when she meant to say “let’s live anew.”
Could time really be lost if spent lost together, just the two?
“I love you,” she meant to say when she first said “let’s leave.”
But will she ever find the strength to take that huge leap?

I was nominated for Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award!! I love this award, it just sounds so cool!! Thank you imperfectioninanutshell!! She really is an amazing blogger, please check out her page!!

So here’s the rules for the award:

Thank the giver and link their blog to your post.Answer the 10 questions given to you.Pass the award on to 7 other bloggers of your choice and let them know that they have been nominated.Include the logo of the award in a post or on your blog

Imperfectioninanutshell asked me:

1. What was your teenage life like?

I actually had a pretty great teenage life. I had a really close friend group and a really tight family. The town we lived it was all really weird. I can’t explain it very well… It was like a 1950’s movie…. lol

2. What is your most prized possession?

Hmmm, well, I try not to get attached to material possessions because things break or get lost. I treasure my family (which include my friends and pets). Material wise… My crucifix that my mother got me for Christmas two years ago. I use to take it off every night because I was afraid I would break the chain but now I never take it off.

3. Favorite book?

Okay, so this question hurts. I can’t pick one!!! I’m currently re-obessesed with Persuasion by Jane Austen. Does manga count? I’m reading Kamisama Kiss!! So I might have a small and incurable obsession with that but Tomoe and Nanami are so cute!!!

4. Favorite movie?

Anything Avengers related and pretty much anything playing on TCM! I love old movies.

5. Money, love or fame? Why?

None of them? I have little faith in all three of them. Money won’t make you happy and tends to make more problems. It would also make me lazy and isolated. I need to work. I wouldn’t want fame because I like being who I am instead of judged by magazines or the world. I already have family love! I don’t want romantic love because I have little faith in that kind of love. I don’t believe love you find in fairytales exists and that’s the only love I want. So, I’m not really looking. I know that sounds terrible but maybe that will change when the right guy shows up.

6. What is one thing you regret?

I don’t think I regret anything. Everything I have done has led me to this moment and who I am. I can’t regret the mistakes I made if they have brought me down this path. In fact, I cherish those mistakes! I don’t know why but I find them beautiful. Yes they were messy but they were moments of growth. I learned so much about me, other people and the world that I wouldn’t want to not know.

7. Which country do you want to visit?

Easy. Japan!! I know you might think it’s because of my addiction to Kamisama Kiss but I wanted to go before reading the manga. I have never traveled before and I think I will only have one chance to travel so I want to go to a place that is completely different from my own and Japan seems amazing!!

8. What do your friends think of you?

Well, you probably need to ask them but I think they think I’m nuts, blunt, honest, oblivious, protective, and passionate with a terrible temper.

9. Are you bossy?

*chuckling* Yes. However, my leadership skills suck.

10. What is one positive thing about your blog?

Well, I’m writing again! I wrote a lot when I was younger and I really wanted to be an author. In college, I was intimated by the rest of the “English Majors” and I didn’t have time to daydream or think of storylines. Now I find myself writing everyday for myself and not for my professors. I’m also less scared of others seeing my writing.